Issues of “race” and early radical geography: Our invisible proponents

Abstract

This chapter analyses the work of the activists, including activists of color, who are seldom acknowledged when the term “radical geography” is invoked, and then to untangle the complex relationship between the concepts of radicalism and anti-racism. The activists include Thelma Glass, Harold Rose and James Blaut. The chapter shows that, in established urban geography, the dominant issue has been the relationship between race and class, which has tended to leave many of the geographers of color out of the picture. The issue of “race” was high on the agenda of the Association of American Geographers throughout the 1960s. Thelma Glass’s mission was to educate Black students and to bring about change on the ground. Harold Rose turned his political sights upon the ways that geographers could contribute to public policy, particularly around such issues as school bussing, residential change, and racialized violence.